There are few materials-based technologies that have had a larger impact on human society and civilization than armor, as its robustness and ability to either be defeated or withstand defeat has decided the course of nations. However, I cannot recall thinking of armor during my studies and research as a materials scientist before reading Paul J. Hazell’s book on the topic. But I am now grateful to have the opportunity to understand it better.
Hazell is a professor from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. He presently serves as the professor of impact dynamics in the School of Engineering and Information Technology at UNSW Canberra. In the book preface, he also claims a history of teaching at defense academies in both the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia.
Hazell’s experience and clear understanding of the topic of armor is apparent in his book. The author easily demystifies how armor is used and behaves and its interactions with munitions. After a basic introduction to the mechanics of materials, the book describes the basic mathematics associated with bullets, blast, jets, and fragments. From there, chapters are focused on penetration mechanics and stress waves before the book returns to its materials focus with chapters on the structure and performance of metallic, ceramic, woven fabric, and reactive armors. Numerous examples are given on how to calculate the damage, fragments, or failures that occur with different materials combinations, ballistic designs, and structures for different penetration and stress conditions. The book wraps up with chapters on human vulnerability and testing techniques. Each chapter contains questions to technical problems along with answers. The book also gives the origin of many of the calculations used with the science and engineering of armor, as much of the math was determined over a century ago and is semi-empirical. The result is a critical perspective on the errors associated with many of the semi-empirical calculations.
As someone who was not very knowledgeable about armor at the onset of reading, I found the book extremely informative. While the actual design of armor and the defeat of it has the basis in much deeper mathematics and studies than covered in the book, it provides the full overview and references needed for a full perspective.
This book will be highly useful to materials scientists and engineers beyond those explicitly interested in armor and munitions, as the mathematics and mechanics of materials presented in the book are of immediate use to anyone researching impact-absorbing materials. Relevant fields range from medical implants to civil and automotive engineering. The classical knowledge of armor and impact could also find relevance in fields of ion bombardment and nanomanufacturing techniques. I can also see this as a good short-course textbook for undergraduate and even graduate mechanics of materials classes, as it clearly illustrates practical examples of how the mechanics, composition, and formulation of materials affect their ability to damage or withstand damage from another material. Additionally, the book contains useful charts and tables that summarize the mechanical attributes (e.g., fracture toughness, Young's modulus). It falls short of being a comprehensive mechanics of materials book because it does not address all mechanical attributes of materials behavior, such as time-dependent creep, and the materials focus is on those used for armor. The only small drawback of the book is that the references clearly emphasize innovations derived from the UK, and a broader source of resources would have brought more balance. However, it fully meets its purpose of describing the materials, theory, and design of armor, and most materials scientists (and even some military historians) would greatly benefit from reading it to gain a grounded perspective on how the mechanics of materials has affected the survivability of armies, and thus largely determined the path of history.
Reviewer: Karen Swider Lyonsresearches fuel-cell and battery materials and their integration into naval systems in Alexandria, Va., USA.
